Colorlines

Rinku Sen

Dharun Ravi, Tyler Clementi and the Hard Work of Truly Stopping Bullies

Dharun Ravi, Tyler Clementi and the Hard Work of Truly Stopping Bullies

by Rinku Sen on March 21 2012, 9:33AM

If we really want to stop bullying, writes Rinku Sen, we can’t just do it from the back end in criminal courts. We have to affirmatively, proactively expand the rights of LGBT people, immigrants, people of color and women.

Topics: Bullying, Gender & Sexuality, Rinku Sen, Schools & Youth

Domestic Workers Use Oscar Buzz Around 'The Help' to Create Change

Domestic Workers Use Oscar Buzz Around ‘The Help’ to Create Change

by Rinku Sen on February 24 2012, 10:05AM

The film isn’t perfect, to be sure, but it offers a strategic opening to organizers fighting for domestic workers’ rights. And they’ve been smart enough to exploit it.

Topics: Oscars 2012, Rinku Sen, The Help

If You Care About Immigrant Rights, Learn Black America's History Too

If You Care About Immigrant Rights, Learn Black America’s History Too

by Rinku Sen on February 3 2012, 9:43AM

This month, our Drop the I-Word campaign is urging immigrants and their advocates to join a virtual book club discussing Isabel Wilkerson’s “The Warmth of Other Suns.”

Topics: Drop the I-Word, Rinku Sen

Film Reveals

Film Reveals “The Invisible War” on Women in Our Military

by Rinku Sen on January 26 2012, 9:49AM

A documentary premiered at Sundance that shines light on the ugly secret of rape inside the U.S. military. It’s time we all pay attention, writes Rinku Sen.

Topics: Gender & Sexuality, Rinku Sen, Sundance

The Real Goal of Ariz.'s Book Banning Thought Police: Harass Latinos

The Real Goal of Ariz.’s Book Banning Thought Police: Harass Latinos

by Rinku Sen on January 20 2012, 9:20AM

To ban ethnic studies in Tucson, officials have had to warehouse Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” along with six other books. But the messy details don’t matter. The real goal is to put Mexican Americans on the defensive about their place in the state.

Topics: Immigration, Rinku Sen, Schools & Youth

The Arc Is Bending Toward Justice. But That Doesn't Make Our Work Easier

The Arc Is Bending Toward Justice. But That Doesn’t Make Our Work Easier

by Rinku Sen on December 19 2011, 9:43AM

Quiet as it’s kept, we’re making real progress toward a just society. So next year, writes Rinku Sen, I’m keeping three imperatives: avoid triumphalism, put an explicit racial analysis front and center in national debates, and fight like hell.

Topics: 2012: What's Ahead?, Politics, Rinku Sen

Tired of Backing Biased Restaurants? Finally, a Zagat's for Racial Justice

Tired of Backing Biased Restaurants? Finally, a Zagat’s for Racial Justice

by Rinku Sen on December 1 2011, 9:59AM

Noticing that all the bussers in your favorite restaurant are Latino and all the waiters white? And that black people are nowhere to be found—unless you’re grabbing fast food? It’s not a coincidence. And now there’s a guide for

Topics: Economy, How We Eat, Rinku Sen

Join the Colorlines.com Family at Facing Race 2012 in Baltimore

Join the Colorlines.com Family at Facing Race 2012 in Baltimore

by Rinku Sen on November 16 2011, 10:29AM

Exactly one year from now, 1,000 racial justice activists will gather in Baltimore for the fourth Facing Race.

Topics: Facing Race 2012, Rinku Sen

Two Votes, One Voice Against Hate in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Two Votes, One Voice Against Hate in Tulsa, Oklahoma

by Rinku Sen on November 7 2011, 9:30AM

While the state of Oklahoma certainly has its fair share of conservative policies, supporters of immigrant and LGBT rights have taken a bold stand in support of justice.

Topics: Rinku Sen

Why It's Crucial to Keep Immigrant Families Together

Why It’s Crucial to Keep Immigrant Families Together

by Rinku Sen on November 2 2011, 8:00AM

Each year, thousands of immigrant parents are ripped away from their kids. Now, it’s time for us to make a difference.

Topics: Deportation Dragnet, Rinku Sen, Felipe Montes

Forget Diversity, It's About

Forget Diversity, It’s About “Occupying” Racial Inequity

by Rinku Sen on November 1 2011, 9:47AM

The Occupy movement is clearly unifying, and centralizing racial equity will help to sustain that unity. This won’t happen accidentally or automatically. It’ll take more of the difficult work that’s already underway in several local movements.

Topics: #Occupy, Politics, Rinku Sen

Occupying, Organizing and the Movements That Demand Both

Occupying, Organizing and the Movements That Demand Both

by Rinku Sen on October 19 2011, 10:23AM

It’s unlikely that anyone knows how to predict when “movement moments” will strike. But the question is how we make the most of them when they come, because you never know how close you are to freedom.

Topics: #Occupy, Rinku Sen

Making Room for Racial Justice in the People Power Exploding Around Us

Making Room for Racial Justice in the People Power Exploding Around Us

by Rinku Sen on October 5 2011, 12:00PM

Bringing our movements together is key to re-conceiving the American Dream.

Topics: #Occupy, Politics, Rinku Sen

Wanna Make Troy Davis the Last Death Penalty Victim? Here's How to Start

Wanna Make Troy Davis the Last Death Penalty Victim? Here’s How to Start

by Rinku Sen on September 22 2011, 11:58AM

As people across the globe mourn the death of Troy Davis, it’s time to recognize and support groups that are working to abolish capital punishment.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Rinku Sen

View from Arizona: A Look at Operation Streamline

View from Arizona: A Look at Operation Streamline

by Rinku Sen on September 15 2011, 9:24AM

It’s a program that speeds immigrants through deportation proceedings. And this week, a group of artists and activists got a firsthand look.

Topics: Rinku Sen

The 9/11 Story I Choose to Tell: We All Belong to Each Other

The 9/11 Story I Choose to Tell: We All Belong to Each Other

by Rinku Sen on September 7 2011, 9:18AM

I can’t call myself a person who values inclusion and compassion and then pick and choose those whom I accept. I can disagree, but I can’t disown. Not if I want to help build a nation that constructs rather than destroys, that frees rather than enslaves.

Topics: 9/11 Anniv., Coping With Terror, Immigration, National Security, Rinku Sen

'The Help' Today Still Don't Have Rights, Actually

‘The Help’ Today Still Don’t Have Rights, Actually

by Rinku Sen on August 11 2011, 11:23AM

Fifty years after the Jim Crow era in which this much-discussed film is set, the largely immigrant women taking care of rich people’s families remain ignored by most labor protections.

Topics: Rinku Sen, The Help

Real Diversity Looks Like Inclusion

Real Diversity Looks Like Inclusion

by Rinku Sen on August 9 2011, 9:45AM

Here are three ways to tell that your organization has done more than just count off some colored and gendered faces to meet a diversity requirement.

Topics: Rinku Sen

Wal-Mart Gets a Free Pass For Bias From the Supreme Court

Wal-Mart Gets a Free Pass For Bias From the Supreme Court

by Rinku Sen on June 21 2011, 9:57AM

The court doesn’t challenge the fact that bias exists, it just refuses to hold the company accountable, as long as the rules for bigotry are unwritten.

Topics: Gender & Sexuality, Rinku Sen

An Open Address to 2011 Graduates: It's OK to Follow, Say No and Get Hurt

An Open Address to 2011 Graduates: It’s OK to Follow, Say No and Get Hurt

by Rinku Sen on June 20 2011, 9:43AM

Go forth as joiners, says Rinku Sen, with the clarity that lets you say no on the way to yes, and with an open heart.

Topics: Graduates, Rinku Sen, Schools & Youth